Lotus 340R
Encyclopedia
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
manufactured by Lotus Cars in 2000 at their Hethel
Hethel
Hethel is a small village in Norfolk, England, near the historic market town of Wymondham, and approximately 10 miles south of the city of Norwich....
factory.
Overview
The 340R is a special edition of the Lotus EliseLotus Elise
The 1996 Lotus Elise weighed . Because of its relatively low weight, it was able to accelerate 0- in 5.8 seconds despite its relatively low power output of...
. Just 340 were built, and all were sold before they were manufactured. It uses a custom built bodyshell with no roof or doors. All cars came with a silver and black colour scheme. Special A038R tyres were developed for the 340R in collaboration with Yokohama.
While road-legal in the UK, most of the surviving cars are used for racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, track use, or demonstrations.
Engine
The engine is a four cylinder tweaked version of the Rover K-Series engine called VHPD (Very High Power Derivative) used in the regular Elise which produces 177 bhp at 7800 rpm/ 172 N·m (126.9 ft·lbf) at 6750 rpm as standard, or 187 bhp at 7500 rpm/ 189 N·m (139.4 ft·lbf) at 5600 rpm with optional Lotus accessories.Specifications
- Weight: 701 kg (1,545.4 lb) (kerb: all fluids and full tank of fuel)
- Performance: 0 kilometre per hour 4,4 sec; 0-160 kilometre per hour 10,7 sec, top 209 kilometre per hour
- Power to Weight: 252 bhp/Ton or 3,96 kg/bhp
- Transmission: Rover 5 speed PG1 Close Ratio Gearbox
- Price: £35,000